Coca Day
-- by Nica Jacobson
On Tuesday we dedicated our day to coca picking and learning about the process and responsibilities of being a coca farmer, or un cocalero. We traveled to Cruz Loma, which is a smaller town just outside of Coroico. We arrived in the plaza where the regional sindicato (a cocalero community-based union) typically has their meeting. Although the plaza is empty during the day, we understood the significance of having a communal space for the cocaleros to meet and organize.
We began our trek through the town by visiting a cocalero home. We saw the bags of coca leaves that were ready for market, which were taller than me (over 5' 5"). We also got to tour the school and noticed the paintings on the walls. Some were of Tupac Katari and others had the checkered indigenous flag, wipala, on it representing indigenous solidarity and identity. While these visuals are symbolic of people in the Yungas, the coca leaf is probably the most important symbol.
For lunch we walked to a kachi, the place flat slate surface where coca leaves are laid out to dry for three hours, and ate the food Gladis, a local cocalera, prepared for us. We all thought it was the best chicken we have ever had! We were surrounded by banana and mandelina trees, as well as the cocales (coca fields).
Right after we ventured to an old hacienda home where the Spanish and elitists would control the surrounding land and people. While it was unsettling being in the same place oppression occured, it was an essential part to our understanding of the history of coca and how it has changed overtime. Right next to the hacienda was the communal kachi that was just built so that cocaleros can rent space and prepare their coca for market. The drying process is complicated in that you have to dry the leaves enough to get the toxins out, but not too much to prevent them from turning black. At the kachi we met Patricio, who wanted to show us how to extract yuca, which is a starchy root vegetable. Maybe even a tuber? We aren't sure...
We ended our adventure by picking the coca leaves (hoja de coca) from one of Doña Clementina's cocales. In picking, you have to take the stem with the leaf, but leave the top of the stem behind for future harvests. The labor is difficult in that you are bent over all day. I think we all realized how tedious the process can be in the 15 minutes we experienced it.
While we know how coca is perceived in the United States, we learned how essential coca is to the culture and identity of the Aymara people. People use it for medicinal purposes, its stimulant properties, and healing effect. There is economic incentive to have cocales, but the process is difficult and time consuming. We were grateful to have such a unique experience and have gained new perspective in our study of coca and Bolivian culture.
